All Blacks lock Ali Williams is set for a six-month sabbatical following surgery on his injured Achilles and shoulder, aiming to return to action in the Blues' 2010 Super 14 campaign.

Williams will be a big loss for the struggling All Blacks, but they are hopeful that young Crusaders second-row Isaac Ross will progress further at international level alongside Brad Thorn. Taranaki's Jason Eaton, who impressed for the Junior All Blacks in the Pacific Nations Cup, is also an option for Graham Henry's Tri-Nations squad.

"There's always someone to push you off the cliff isn't there?" Williams said when asked if
he felt his position was under threat. "That is that hardest part, watching. I think he's (Ross) done extremely well. He's a confident young man and in open spaces he does very well. So far he's made a real fist of it. If you cast your eyes back to what I did, I didn't do much for those first three or four years of my international career. And he'll get better with every experience he gets."

Toulouse and France fullback Maxime Medard has been diagnosed with swine flu after returning from tour in Australia and New Zealand. Medard, 23, reported a high temperature to doctors and tests confirmed the presence of the H1N1 virus.

"Maxime Medard had a sudden rise in temperature on Wednesday after the return from Australia," French team media officer Lionel Rossigneux told Reuters. "Medical tests confirmed on Friday he had been contaminated by the H1N1 virus."

The RFU has set a date of July 29 for the hearing involving former Bath players Michael Lipman, Alex Crockett, Andrew Higgins and Justin Harrison. The players have been charged with a number of offences including "taking prohibited substances and wilful refusal to take a drugs test".

Argentinean rugby has been placed on hold due to the outbreak of swine-flu in the country. The Buenos Aires championship, the strongest in the country, has been suspended until at least July 12. Argentina has been heavily affected by the virus, with 1,587 people infected and 26 deaths according to the World Health Organisation.

In a bemusing twist however, the Argentina football title will be decided in front of a crowd of up to 45,000 this weekend when Velez Sarsfield take on Huracan.

The independent disciplinary panel investigating Harlequins' substitution of Tom Williams and his replacement by Nick Evans - who himself had been withdrawn earlier in the game - during their Heineken Cup quarter-final at the Stoop in April has been adjourned until July 20.

Newcastle Falcons have signed former Springbok centre Gcobani Bobo from the Stormers. Bobo, who has six international caps, joins the Falcons on a two-year deal.